flower crowns
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: "I've got a plan to kidnap Xander," Elise announced proudly, looking more ragamuffin than princess. Helbindi was certain she wouldn't out of place in the slums he grew up in.


**Title: **flower crowns

**Characters/Pairings:** Elise & Helbindi

**A/N:** For the Together We Ride zine, for volume 5. It's actually really cute writing about these two. . (And goddamn it Xander, leave Veronica's side you moron.)

**Summary:** _"I've got a plan to kidnap Xander," Elise announced proudly, looking more ragamuffin than princess. Helbindi was certain she wouldn't out of place in the slums he grew up in._

…

…

…

…

"Sooo, I was thinking, next time we see Xander, we should just kidnap him." Elise grinned brightly, a chain of flowers forgotten on her lap. Her hands were moving animatedly in front of her as she described yet another ridiculous plan to pry her brother out of Veronica's hands. "I mean it. Like, Shareena and Alfonse will be busy fighting Veronica, and while he's distracted, we can sneak up behind him and knock him out."

"Knock 'im out?" Helbindi guffawed, more amused by this scrap of a princess than he liked to admit. Which was the only reason he was out in a field of flowers, making crowns out of weeds and the like. The absolute only reason. "With what, my axe?"

Elise started to nod before a horrified look crossed her face and she shook her head so fast it looked like it would snap off. "That'd kill him!"

"That's what axes are fer!" Helbindi rolled his eyes, his thick fingers still threading the flower stems together as they talked. His sister had liked to make these out of the burning red flowers that lived in Muspell. Like everything that survived in their country, the flowers were strong and hardy and had burned more than one brow from someone who came too close to them in full bloom. But the buds, the buds were safe, and the buds were what she had gathered. These wildflowers and dandelions were far cry from his homeland's and he felt a pang at the realization that she'd never see them, just as she would never meet Elise.

Just as he would never see her again. She wasn't important enough to summon and the one from this world had died as well. Was there even a world where she did live? Where she grew up happily?

Then again, they were from Muspell. Just as everything else had, perhaps even happiness had burned to ashes.

"Helbindi?" Elise cocked her head, staring up at him with wide, innocent eyes. Reaching out, she rested a hand on his arm, her fingers lightly digging into his skin. "You ok?"

He stared at her for a minute, blinking. It wasn't too hard to see the teenager his sister could have grown into. Hell, it wasn't hard to see his sister behind Elise, braiding her hair, dropping a flower crown on her head. Brushing away his thoughts, he shook his head with a smirk. "Don't need a brat like you to worry about me."

"Rude!" She puffed her cheeks, pouting. Whatever she claimed about her age, Elise certainly acted the part of a child. Grabbing a fistful of grass, she tossed it at him. "Very rude!"

"They don't teach manners in the slums." He wrinkled his nose, spitting out the small grasses that made it into his mouth. "Ain't that ruder?"

"…probably," Elise muttered, looking away. She stopped, crossing her arms as her lower lip jutted out. "Sorry."

For a princess, she sure behaved like a ragamuffin. She wouldn't be out of place in his neighbourhood. Her prim and proper clothes really hid the kid inside and suddenly he understood her older sister's mothering. Or perhaps smothering was the better word. Camilla didn't know when to step back. Shrugging, he leaned back and stared up at the sky. "So, that plan of yers, how'd we go about knocking out Xander? Yer brother's pretty dangerous, even dressed as a rabbit or fer swimming."

Elise snickered, covering her mouth with a delicate hand. "Gods, doesn't he look terrible like that? I mean, it's bad enough my Xander doesn't have any fashion sense, but none of them do? Is there even a universe where he knows what to wear?" She suddenly fell back onto the grass, her flower crown flopping onto the ground as she started to roll around. "And Leo! He always has his collar turned backwards, no matter what outfit he's wearing! Even their faces are identical when I tell them!"

"Are they now?" He watched as she continued to laugh, her braids loosening as she rolled. Bits of grass and twigs tangled into her hair, resembling a bird's nest almost, and the pristine white on her frock was tinged green. One of the Camillas was going to kill him for this. He wasn't sure which one, but one of them was definitely going to do that. Maybe even all of them. Well, he'd been itching for a fight for days and despite her delicate looks, Camilla swung her axe with heft.

"Yeah." Elise stopped laughing, staring up at the sky now. "And there are so many mes and Camillas and Corrins and they all look so happy. Maybe their worlds aren't at war like mine." Her nose scrunched as she reluctantly added, "Maybe they even get along with Hoshido. Maybe another me actually likes Sakura."

There wasn't anything he could say to that. He hadn't seen another him and maybe that just meant he died in every other universe, that there was only one place where he had lived for as long as he had. Maybe he had been fated to die back in the village, fleeing with his sister, and Helbindi couldn't deny that would have been the best ending for him.

Elise closed her eyes. "And it was my brother who chose to stay with Veronica. My Xander." Her lower lip wobbled, a sure sign that she was about to cry. Helbindi had seen her wail over her food and being ignored but this looked more serious than all of those times combined. "Why did he stay?"

"Dunno." Uncomfortable, he reached forward and yanked her up into a sitting position. When she blinked, staring at him with her clothes and hair resembling that of a wild dog's, he plopped his completed flower crown on her head. "Ask 'im that when we kidnap 'im."

She reached up, her fingers brushing the crown tentatively. Her fingers curled around the flowers as she broke into a wide smile. "You're right. I'll just have to ask him in person."

There, that was much better. Elise just didn't look right without a smile. "I'll get a plank of wood to hit 'im with."

"Yeah—wait, that's almost as bad as the axe!" Elise gave him a horrified stare. "He'll die!"

Helbindi laughed and perhaps she wasn't his sister, would never be his sister, but there was something comforting about being with her all the same. Just as it had been the ice kid and shit. He was getting attached.

Well. At least Elise could protect herself. And it wasn't so bad to have something to look forward to. Raising his arms, he swung an imaginary club. "Not if I hit 'im lightly."

"You don't know how to do that." She crossed her arms, squinting at him suspiciously. "You don't even know what lightly means."

"Busted." He gave her a toothy grin even as her frown grew deeper. "So, what's the plan, princess?"


End file.
